PROP 1: Trust doctors to make good decisions

Prop 1 will reverse a dangerous and confusing law. The League of Women Voters of Kootenai County does not endorse any party or candidate, but, having spent over a year studying Idaho’s extreme crisis in women’s healthcare, we are endorsing Proposition 1. Here’s why:

Since passage of Idaho Code § 18‑622 in August of 2022, Idaho has had a net loss of 35% of its ob/gyn doctors. Doctors are not leaving because they want to do abortions. They are leaving because they know a myriad of factors may cause death or lifelong hardships to pregnant women and know if they even discuss the various medical remedies that could be interpreted as “intent” to commit abortion. The mere intent can lead to prison and loss of a dedicated career. This is one of the strictest laws in the country. It comes at a time when Idaho is already dead last of any state in doctor availability per capita. A third of Idaho counties now have no ob/gyn docs and three hospitals have closed their labor and delivery departments. 

We feel it is a dangerous precedent for the government to criminalize medical decisions. We believe that women and their Idaho doctors will make good decisions based on their values and we should trust our Idaho citizens. We believe Proposition 1 will restore Idaho to what its conservative laws were for 50 years, before Code § 18‑622 was enacted.

LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS OF KOOTENAI COUNTY